The Most Glamorous Collar
The next day, well past noon.
I rose at a leisurely pace and stepped out of my room.
Dabin's pickup was at three in the afternoon.
I still had time to spare.
Knock, knock.
"Mom. Can I come in?"
Creak.
"Oh my, P-Peace. You're already awa— hhn!"
The moment I opened the door and walked in, Lee Seolah—perched on the edge of the bed—turned to look at me.
And reflexively flung both hands straight up over her head.
Her waist curved in a soft arc as her hips eased back just slightly.
The perfect beginning of the Standby Pose.
"Mom? Why'd you suddenly put your hands up like that?"
"Huh? Ah—ahh?!"
At my shamelessly innocent question, Lee Seolah jolted and hurriedly dropped her arms.
Her face flushed tomato-red in an instant.
"Th-that's…"
"Shoulders stiff?"
"J-just stretching! I only just woke up and my whole body felt all creaky!"
"Ahh. Got it."
In her dreams she must have been swaying her hips in submission for me.
The second she saw her Master's face, her body had answered before her reason could catch up.
"W-why did you come in?"
"Ah. All my clothes got tossed into the washing machine."
"Ah…"
"There are a few pieces I really care about. I'm worried they'll get ruined mixed in with everything else—could I ask you to do just these separately?"
"S-separately…?"
"Yeah. I was going to handle it myself, but I'm a little tight on time if I'm picking Dabin up."
I thrust out the laundry I'd been holding in one hand.
Pieces still thickly steeped in last night's scent of me.
"Ah… mm. S-sure."
"I'd appreciate it."
"I'll get right on it…"
Softly.
The tips of Lee Seolah's fingers trembled faintly as she took the clothes.
Her nose twitched toward the fabric.
She looked like she wanted to bury her face in them right then and there—fighting with everything she had not to inhale.
"I'm gonna grab a quick lunch outside before I go pick Dabin up."
"Y-you're leaving already?"
"Yeah. Figured I'd give myself some cushion. Is Eunha still asleep?"
"She's probably in the living room…"
When I stepped out into the living room, Eunha was sprawled across the sofa.
She looked just as wrecked—dark circles sunk halfway down her cheeks, eyes hollow.
"What's with that face?"
"Nnngh…"
"Were you up all night?"
"Ah, Oppa… I'm too tired, don't touch me…"
Eunha answered my voice through glazed eyes.
Then, without thinking, both hands twitched up toward her head.
A second later she flinched hard, clamped her thighs tight, and curled in on herself.
Quite the show.
Hiding a cruel smile, I walked out the front door.
A household perfectly broken in.
Time to go collect the next prey.
I threw together a rough lunch outside.
Three in the afternoon.
I pulled the manager van up to the photoshoot location.
"Peace!"
The moment I stepped into the studio, a bright, clear voice rang out.
Under the dazzling lights, golden hair spilling down her back—Seo Dabin.
"You made it?"
"Yeah. Shoot all done?"
"Mm-hm. Just finished."
Dabin beamed and came toward me.
South Korea's hottest magical girl of the moment.
But in front of me, she was nothing more than a comfortable, unguarded childhood friend.
"Good work."
"Ugh, I seriously thought my back was going to snap."
She groaned and slumped against my shoulder.
"That rough?"
"My whole body's sore from holding poses. Did you eat?"
"Something quick. You?"
"Just a salad. I'm starving."
"I'll buy you something good when we're done."
"For real? Whoa, Kang Peace, what's gotten into you."
Dabin gave my arm a playful swat.
No pretense in how she treated me. No arrogance either.
Nothing but the solid trust of two people who'd leaned on each other since they were kids.
Which only makes it more fun.
That bright, defenseless smile pointed straight at me.
Without the faintest dream that I was the beast about to devour her.
"Go change in the waiting room first."
"Okay. Come with me."
Just the two of us, we stepped into the private waiting room deeper inside the studio.
A cozy space completely sealed off from the outside.
Thump.
Dabin sank deep into the sofa.
"Ahh, I feel alive again."
"That exhausted?"
"Shooting a full pictorial on top of everything else—my magical power's running on empty."
She closed her eyes and pressed her fingers into her brow.
I pretended to open my bag and drew out a jet-black visor with sleek, elegant curves.
"Dabin."
"Hmm?"
"Want to try this on?"
She tilted her head at the black device I held out.
"What's this? Some kind of VR thing?"
"Something like that. They say if you wear it, it helps you sleep and even restores fatigue."
"A fatigue recovery machine? Seriously?"
"Yeah. I thought of you and hustled all over just to get my hands on one."
"Whoa. Kang Peace, I'm actually touched?"
Dabin looked at me with clear eyes that held not a shred of suspicion.
Instead she broke into a wide smile, full of gratitude toward me.
"Hurry up and put it on me. My eyes were already burning anyway."
"Got it. Lean back and get comfortable."
She obediently closed her eyes and rested her head against the sofa cushion.
Slowly, I lowered the pitch-black visor over her face.
"Anything uncomfortable?"
"Nope. Perfect fit. But I don't feel anything?"
While the power was off, the camouflage effect blocked magical power at a hundred percent.
Even an active hero would register this machine as nothing but an ordinary object.
Click.
I slid the switch up.
Vmmmmm—!
"Huh? There's a vibra— euh?!"
With a cold startup hum, the Monster King's overwhelming energy slammed into her brain.
"Ah— hhn… my head… haah……!"
Three seconds. That was all.
Magical resistance meant nothing. The long, brilliant reason of a magical girl was seized with hollow ease.
Dabin's hands, which had been flailing at the air, went limp and dropped to the floor.
"…."
Perfect neutralization.
Only the soft sound of her slightly parted lips breathing filled the waiting room.
"Seo Dabin."
"…Yes. Master…"
A voice sunk cold and flat.
The childhood friend who'd been smiling so brightly at me moments ago was gone.
Only a doll sprawled on the sofa remained, waiting for my commands alone.
I stroked her cheek lightly.
Soft skin.
"You trust me a great deal, don't you?"
"…Yes… I trust you completely…"
"But I lied to you."
"……"
"From this moment on, you are my perfect slave. Feel wronged?"
Vmmm.
The visor's light flickered.
"…No… Becoming Master's slave… is an honor…"
"Hahaha."
A short laugh broke out of me.
This system of unconditional absolute obedience.
"Good. Then start by telling me your deepest secret."
"…I will speak… my secret…"
"What's the complex you hide from the public—yours alone?"
"…Because of the obsession that I always have to look perfect…"
"Because?"
"…I suffer from severe affection starvation… I've been harboring a secret desire… to completely depend on someone… to be dominated…"
Affection deficit and a craving to be ruled.
The true face of a top star, buried behind the glittering spotlight.
The corner of my mouth curled up with cruel satisfaction.
"I'll grant that vulgar little wish of yours perfectly."
"…Thank you… Master…"
"Now brand this deep into your body."
I leaned in close to Dabin's ear.
"Good Childhood Friend."
"……"
"The instant you hear those words, you will immediately lose your sense of self and enter domination mode."
"…When I hear 'Good Childhood Friend'… I unconditionally enter domination mode…"
"And."
I gripped the shoulders of the girl slumped on the sofa.
"Look me straight in the face."
"…Look you… in the face…"
"Kneel on the floor."
"…I will kneel…"
"Clasp both hands behind your back, stick out your tongue like a dog, and pant. Understood?"
The most beastlike Standby Pose, issued to the most glamorous star.
But the lips of the girl under hypnosis did not hesitate.
"…I will remember it. I will kneel… hands behind my back… tongue out, and wait…"
"Then shall we run a drill?"
I took one step back.
"Good Childhood Friend."
Softly.
At the command, the opaque jet-black face of the visor covering Dabin shifted translucent.
A system feature that automatically cleared the subject's field of vision so she could carry out orders.
Smoothly.
With her sight restored, Dabin slid down from the sofa like water.
The cold waiting-room floor.
Keeping her gaze locked on me, she came right to my feet and sank to her knees.
"Haah… haah…"
Still in her dazzling stage costume.
Both hands clasped behind her back, red tongue peeking out between slightly parted lips.
Beyond the translucent visor, unfocused eyes looked up at me as she panted with desperate need.
"Kh—khahaha!"
Pleasure felt like it was punching straight through the top of my skull.
The shining childhood friend who had trusted me and followed me.
Right now she was sprawled at my feet, panting like a bitch in heat.
"Seo Dabin."
"…Yes, Master…"
"You're beautiful. Stick your tongue out a little farther."
"…I receive your command…"
She pushed her tongue out longer and smiled with her eyes.
Perfect corruption.
I roughly stroked her golden hair, savoring the rush.
I wanted to take this all the way—but this was a studio waiting room.
Staff could knock on the door at any second.
"That's enough practice for today."
I pulled her back up and sat her on the sofa.
"Your body will crave this pleasure forever. Even in daily life, the moment you face me or hear your personal keyword, your temperature will spike and your legs will give out."
"…I will remember…"
Even if her memories were wiped clean, her flesh would keep the overwhelming pleasure of being dominated carved into it.
Just as it had with Lee Seolah and Kang Eunha.
Click.
I flipped the visor's switch down and carefully lifted it away.
With the magical power cut off, focus snapped back into Dabin's eyes.
"Nnngh……"
She blinked a couple of times, then stretched.
"Huh? When did I fall asleep?"
"Just now. The second I put the machine on you, you were out cold."
I fed her the lie with my trademark warm childhood-friend expression.
"No way! Peace, this thing actually works amazing!"
Dabin’s eyes went wide with awe.
"All the fatigue just vanished. My body feels so light!"
"See? Told you it was good."
"Thank you so much! I'm gonna use this every day."
She hooked her arm through mine and grinned wide.
An innocent smile that knew nothing.
Wobble.
"Whoa?!"
As Dabin tried to stand, her legs buckled hard.
Her body toppled straight into my arms.
"Careful."
"Huh? That's weird. Why can't I get any strength in my legs all of a sudden… euh."
Held against my chest, Dabin's breathing roughened by the slightest degree.
Her cheeks began to color a faint rose.
"What's wrong? Does something hurt?"
"No, it doesn't hurt, but… why is my body so hot?"
She clutched at her chest, looking flustered.
An unfamiliar pleasure climbing from her lower belly, heat blooming through her.
"You probably just fell into a deep sleep all of a sudden—blood circulation kicking into overdrive."
"Haah… you think so? Keep getting this ticklish feeling inside… it's weird…"
Dabin buried her face in my shoulder and breathed out, flushed and dazed.
Total disarmament.
"Just change clothes for now. Let's go eat."
"Mmm… I can't stand up by myself. Hold me a little longer…"
Seo Dabin, clinging and acting spoiled.
I supported her around the waist and quietly curled the corner of my mouth.
The hunt was a complete success.
At home, a mother and daughter in heat, hunting my scent.
And in my arms, a childhood friend leaning on me as her gradual corruption began.